NARRATIVE – Star of the French football team at the first World Cup in history in Uruguay in 1930, Alexandre Villaplane ended his life at the foot of an execution post at the Liberation. Two books return to the history of the “black legend” of French football.
When you enter the name of Alexandre Villaplane in the search engine of the French Football Federation, you get a summary biography: statistics, a black and white photo of the midfielder, the fine face and the piercing gaze. There are especially inaccuracies, on his date of birth, death or on his height (1.75 m instead of 1.66 m). As if the “FFF” was trying to cover the tracks to erase the traces of this former star of the selection who ended up betraying his country at the end of the Second World War.
Moreover, when Luc Briand, working on the destiny of this former Habs, contacted the Federation in order to access the archives, he did not obtain an answer. “Probably because it is the black legend of French football“, relativizes the magistrate who wrote the book The Armband (Full Day Editions). His incredible story traces the rise and then the descent into hell of Alexandre Villaplane, glorious captain of the Blues…
This article is for subscribers only. You have 89% left to discover.
Cultivating your freedom is cultivating your curiosity.
Keep reading your article for €0.99 for the first month
Already subscribed? Login
